Tobacco

Further to my previous post, it occurred to me that nothing complements a cup of Chai quite like a smoke, and this got me thinking about a discussion I had in the pub last weekend about smoking.

I was trying to explain to someone, who reacted to me getting out some tobacco, that I shouldn't smoke because it was bad for you. Fair enough.

What troubled me was their second statement: That people only smoke because the need to alleviate their addiction, now this I disagree with, and I cite myself as an counterpoint. I only choose to smoke just now because I happened to have some tobacco left over from last weekend, and that smoking would (and was!) be a pleasurable experience.

At the time I couldn't think of an analogy to drive home my point that being someone who smokes is necessary, but is not sufficient¹, for them to be addicted to smoking.
Now, after mulling it over for a while, I believe I have one:
It would seem absurd to me, to suggest that someone visiting a casino one night with friends and playing on the roulette wheel, is sufficient to state that they are addicted to gambling. Yet in my mind this parallels with my position with smoking: Both activities necessitate a net loss (one in health and one in finance), both can be addictive, and some people find both enjoyable.


¹ Regulars will spot that this is once again confusion arising from that Dave's Blog classic: Necessary and sufficient conditions.